Method for recovery of cadmium



Nov. 11, 1941. J, w. BROWN METHOD FOR RECOVERY or CADMIUM Filed Aug. 3. 1940 Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD FOR RECOVERY OF CADMIUM n.mlm W. Brown, cleveland, ohio Application August 3, 1940, Serial No. 350,'701

6 Claims.

the cadmium distilled off, and finally the retort opened up and the residual material cleaned out to make ready for the next charge. 'I'his prior method is subject to certain disadvantages, such as short life of the retorts which are relatively costly, fragile and easily cracked in cleaning out the residue, and the disadvantage that cadmium vapor is absorbed in the retort itself.

I have found that these .difficulties can be avoided by the use of a` retort made of relatively pure iron or steel. The common grade of cast iron cannot be employed because it has a melting point too close to the boiling point of cadmium. Sheet iron or steel and wrought iron have .a suiciently high melting point however and are not attacked appreciably by cadmium or cadmium vapor at the temperatures involved. At these temperatures however iron and steel oxidlze rapidly if exposed to air or furnace gases. Taking these things into consideration I have found that an iron or steel retort separated from the air and from furnace gases by means of 'a refractory muille serves the purpose excellently. As a protective means I introduce intoV the space between the retort and the muffie a gas containing substantially no free oxygen, -preferably a rreducing gas such as natural gas which combines with the oxygen that may pass through the muflie. The metal retort has the further advantage that iron and steel pipe connections can be made to it in such a way as to eliminate any4 possibility ofA cadmium vapor loss by leakage. I

employ wrought ironpipe and pipe connections.V

AOne of the objects of the invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for recovering cadmium `which shall be effective and economical. Y i

Another object isthe provision of a method for the purpose stated whichshall permit a furnacev Ato be kept in almostcontinuous operation.

Still another object is the provision of means permitting the employment of` metallic retorts.V

A further object Is the provision of means lfor inducing the flow of distillation vapors out of the retort where the temperature of the retort is of cadmium.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view of -apparatus which may be employed in connection withthe invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

In the drawing I0 represents the outer refrac- .tory wall of a muilie furnace, this wall resting upon a 'refractorybase II and being preferably cylindrical in shape. The furnace also comprises an inner cylindrical wall I2 concentric with wall Inland an annular closure I3 between the two walls at the top of the furnace.

At one point above and in communication with the annular space between these walls there is a stack I4 to carry off the products of combustion which are supplied by a burner I5 through an opening `I6 in wall I0, this burner using fluid fuel supplied through a pipe I1 with which is mixed air introduced under pressure by a blower I8. The iiame may be controlled by a valve manipulated by a handle IB. The iiame spirals upwardly in a path which enci'rcles the wall I2 at least once before it emerges at the stack. By this means the wall I2 is heated to the desired extent.

Within the latter wall and spaced therefrom at all points I positionl a ferrouslm'etal retort f y 20, preferably cylindrical in form. This retort is pocket 23 and a communicating radial passage.

constructed of thin gauge sheet iron or steel with welded `ioints, and in some-cases is reenforced with an internal pan 2|. I may use metal from I2 gauge down to as thin as 26gauge, although I6 or I8 gauge is 'generally preferable. The cost of such a retort is suiiiciently low to warrant its being discarded after a single use. In

most instances the top 22 of the retort `is not attached until after a load of material to be treated is placed in the retort. However when the' material to be treated is relatively iine -I may weld the top 22 in'place rst and load the retort thereafter through one of the openingsin the cover. w

The retort rests upon the refractory base II which is provided with an approximatelycentral An elbow 25 threaded into a hole in the bottom of the retort enters the pocket 23, and thepipe 26 projected inwardly through said passage may be threaded into the elbow 25. 'I'hereafter the passage 24 1s sealed with clay 9.v A down-spout 21 maintained only slightly above the boiling point 55.. connected with the outer end of pipe 26 extends j into a pot 28 which is enclosed within a refradserve for drawing off molten metal from tory box Y29, the inner and bottom walls of which are spaced from the corresponding walls Voi! the pot to provide a re chamber 30 into which heat- .ing flame lmay be projected\by a Bunsen burner indicated at 3 I.

'the retort when the latter is placed under the strain of a heavy charge4 of molten metal, as when the entire charge in the retort is to be reclaimed by the vdistillation process. In other cases however where it is not necessary to recover cadmium of highpurity it is quite satisfactory to reclaim`as much as possible by drawing oir the melted metal.

'I'he retort when loaded is quite heavy. I therefore make provision for handling it with a crane.` For this purpose'a loop 32 of heavy gauge strap metal is passed around and beneath the retort and 'is attached by suitable means to a' block and tackle 33 supported from a crane, not

shown. i

34 is a length of pipe threaded into a tting 35 .mountedin the top 22 of the retort. At its upper end this pipe may carry a T-connection 36, one branch of which' is closed by a plug 31,

Vwhile the remaining branch is connected by means oi?v a short length of pipe 38 with a second T 39 'set at a slight angleto the horizontal. T 39 is connected through short lengths of pipe 40 and 4I with elbows 42 and 43 from which extend condenser tubes 44 and 45. These tubes are lengths of wrought iron pipe. Tube 44 is provided with a down-spout 46 which extends below the surface of molten metal in a pot 41 similar to pot 28.4 'I'his pot is maintained at a temperature tolkeep the metal molten by ame from a Bunsen burner 48 directed through an opening in refractory box 49 similar to box 29, both of these boxes being vented -at various points around their periphery as indicated in the drawing. Tube 45 may be closed at its upper end by a cap 50, and at other times may be provided with a down-spout similar to the down-spout 46 on tube 44.

One or more heaters such as Bunsen burners -lil-are provided for heating either one or both of the tubes 44 and-45, and a water spray nozzle 52 may be provided as a convenient means for cooling either of these tubes.

The top 22 of the retort is also provided with a fitting 53 in which is clamped by means of a screw bushing 54 a length of wrought iron pipe 55 which extends downl through the material in the retort to a point near the bottom of the latter. This pipe 55 is afdapted to be connected by I,an elbow 56 with a horizontal pipe 51, the outer endof which is bent down and extends through the cover of a gaugje 59. vis illustrated herein this gauge consists of a bubbler, that is a glass jar iilled part-way'with water or other liquid. An inert gas is introduced into the bubbler by a pipe 59 with a constricted orice below the the.

level .of the liquid. A hand valve 60 controls flow of gas into the bubbler, and the bubbler shows .visually the rate of iiow vofthe gas.

A similar bubbler-6I receives gas from a pipe 62 with a constricted orice beneath the liquid level, the rate of flow of gas into the hunner being controlled by hand valve .63 and the gas from the bubbler ilowngthrough pipes 64 and 65 into an annular space 66between the muiiie wall I2 and retort .20.V A convenient and cheap gas to use in both instances is natural gas, but it should be understood that other gases may be employed if desired. The gas to the space 66 should be free from oxygen and shouldpreferably be a reducing gas in order that it may absorb any oxygen which may be contained in products of combustion that leak through the wall I2. For the gas that is caused to enter the retort any gas which is inert to cadmium and iron will be satisfactory.

When the 'retort has been loaded and closed I may apply to the exterior surfaces thereof, at least to the cover', a coating such that when the retort is exposed to heat'a glazewill be formed tending to protect the metal of the retort from between the upper end of the retort and the mufile with a vring of clay 68.v I also provide a thick layer of powdered refractory 69 'over' the"-v top of the retort as insulation. Furthermore I insulate the greater part of pipe withv clay 10 to prevent vapors from condensing in that pipe.

Operation AThe `pipes 55 and 34 are mounted in the retortl before Vit is lowered into place. 'I'hen the pipe 51 is connected with pipe 55 and the condenser tubes are connected with pipe 34. Also pipe 26 is connected with the bottom of the retort if molten metal is to be drawn oil?. The pipes 64 and 65 are installed permanently or semi-permanently.

. The valve 63 is then opened and gas flows into the space 66, expelling the air in that space. Thereafter the clay seal 63 is applied and the anrular space then filled with inert gas is thereby closed.

Now the burner I5 is turned on and the munie begins to heat up. When the temperature gets somewhatA above the melting point of cadmium some of the cadmium present in the charge melts and runs down through pipes 26 and 21 into pot 28. Where it is important to reclaim only substantially pure cadmium pot 28 is not used and no elbow tting 251s connected into the retort.

A suflicient amount of cadmium is placed in pot 41 and the pot heated to seal the lower end of pipe46. Now after the temperature in the muilie has been raised to approximately the boiling point oi cadmium distillation vapors begin to now through pipe34 intothe condenser. Some of them flow into pipe 45 and are condensed, after which the vcondensate flows downwardly into -ppe 44 and through that pipe and pipe 46 into pot 41. yOther portions of the vapors flow directly into pipe 44 and are condensed, the con.

,I densate ilowing .down ,I'iirciughv pipe 46 into the pot.

In unassisted into, the .condenser throughout the process it would be necessary toraise the tem-- perature of the retort, at leastpart-of that time, considerably above the boiling'point of cadmium,

which would be dangerously close to the melting point ofthe sheet steel or iron of which the retort is constructed. In accordance with my method however I use a temperature only slight- 1y above the boiling point and induce iiow of the vapors to the .condenser by.v injecting inert gas l into the retort at a point remote from pipe-34,

that is at a .point near the bottom of the retort,

order that distillation' vapors might flow.

through pipe l55. This flowing gas carries the vapors along with it and out through the condenser. With the tube 45 in the position illustrated and with the cap 50 removed much of the gas will find an exit through pipe 45. The vapors will condense before they reach the open end of tube 45. Other portions of the vapors will condense in pipe 44. At times when the vapors are rising very rapidly it may be necessary to turn tube 45 down and attach a downspout similar to 46 to be projected beneath the surface of the molten metal in the pot. At such times the ow of gas into the retorty may be out down or stopped completely. The condenser tubes show by their color the rate of condensation, that is to say heat given up by condensation imparts a red glow to the tubes, and this color must be maintained within a given range because if the temperature of the condenser tubes gets too low the condensate may become solid and block the tubes, which would cause pressure to build up sufcient to burst the apparatus at some point, while on the other hand if theA temperature gets too high condensation will not take place fast enough to prevent some of u the vapors from being discharged into pot 41 and thence to the atmosphere. This latter condition is bad not only because of the loss of cadmium values, but also because cadmium vapors are extremely poisonous and injurious to the health of the workers. Consequently I provide means for controlling the temperature of the condenser tubes, which means may comprise one or more Bunsen burners l for playing flame upon the tubes and one or more spray nozzles 52 for cooling the tubes. A workman is in attendance at all times to handle this part of the equipment and to regulate the flow of gas through the bubbler. At the moderate temperatures Which I employ the rate of vapor ow may be controlled within certain limits by the rate of flow of gas into the retort, that is by means of the control valve 60.

In both of the pots 28 and 4l the molten metal is delivered below the surface of a bath of molten metal which in practice I keep covered with a layer of slag indicated at S in the drawing. By this means oxidation of the metal and consequent loss on thataccount are kept at a minimum.

I desire it to be understood that although I have illustrated but two condenser tubes a greater number may be employed in cases where that appears to be advantageous. When one or more of these tubes is turned upwardly, as is the tube 45 in the drawing, such upwardly directed tube acts as a safety outlet for the retort in case the tubes which are turned down should become clogged up.

When all of the cadmium vapors have been abstracted from a retort, I cause its pipe connections to be broken and the retort to be lifted out of/the furnace. Another retort previously loaded with fresh metal to be treated is then lowered into place and the pipe connections are made, so that the process may be resumed with very little delay. The withdrawn retort is permitted to cool, after which it with its contents may be disposed of 'as scrap.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A method for recovering cadmium from scrap metal, which comprises heating the metal in a closed sheet metal retort approximately to the boiling temperature of cadmium, introducing into the retort at a given point above any molten metal level a stream of gas inertto cadmium, drawing olf the distillation vapors entrainedby the gas ata point remote from said i'lrst named point, and condensing said vapors.

2. A method of recovering cadmium from scrap metal which comprises heating the metal in a closed sheet metal retort approximately to the boiling temperature of cadmium, introducing into the retort near the bottom thereof labove any molten metal level a stream of gas inert to cadmium, drawing olf distillation vapors entrained by the gas at the top of the retort, and condensing said vapors.

y 3. A method of recovering cadmium from scrap metal, which comprises heating the metal in a closed sheet metal retort to the melting point of cadmium, withdrawing the melted cadmium from the bottom of the retort, raising the temperature of the retort approximately to the boiling point of cadmium, introducing into the retort near the bottom thereof a continuous stream of gas inert to cadmium, withdrawing the distillation vapors entrained by the gas, and condensing them.

4. A' method of recovering cadmium from scrap metal which comprises lling a ferrous sheet metal retort with the metal to be treated, closing the retort, placing it in a heated furnace, excluding oxygen from the heated surfaces of the retort, raising the temperature of the furnace substantially to the boiling point of cadmium, withdrawing the distillation vapors and condensing them, removing the retort with its spent charge of metal, placing in the furnace a new lled retort, and repeating the procedure.

5. A method of recovermg cadmium from scrap metal, which comprise loading the metal into an open retort of ferrous sheet metal, Welding a cover onto said loaded retort, heating the retort approximately to the boiling temperature of cadmium, excluding oxygen from the heated surfaces thereof, and drawing olf distillation vapors therefrom.

6. A method of recovering cadmium from scrap metal which comprises heating the metal in a closed retort approximately to the boiling temperature 'of cadmium, introducing into the retort near the bottom thereof above any level of molten metal al stream of gas inert tocadmium, drawing off distillation vapors entrained by the gas at the top of the retort, controlling the rate of discharge of the vapors by controlling the rate of flow of the inert gas, and condensing the vapors.

JOHN W. BROWN. 

